


Love Day

by LittleRose13



Series: I Knew It All Along [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Babysitting, F/M, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Valentine’s Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 11:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13680360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleRose13/pseuds/LittleRose13
Summary: ”It’s your only Valentine’s as an engaged couple.” He gestured to Scorpius and Clementine, who was hanging heavily from his shoulders and shrieking with laughter.“Scor and me don’t do Valentine’s,” Albus laughed. “Now, go.”“Bedtime is seven thirty, they’re not allowed to sleep in their fairy costumes after last time.” Victoire looked like she was trying to remember everything. “Don’t be alarmed if you check on them and they’ve moved into the same bed, Pippa’s allergic to shellfish, make sure you brush their hair before bed, I’ve written everything down. Just send a patronus if you need anything, please.”Scorpius and Albus babysit for the Lupin twins on Valentine’s Day.





	Love Day

“And you’re both absolutely _sure_?” Victoire fiddled with the fastenings of her cloak then started searching herself. “Where’s my wand? Teds, have you seen my wand?” She raised her voice and called into the other room.

“Completely sure. Go, have a lovely valentine’s together. The four of us will be absolutely fine.” Albus spoke confidently, little Pippa sat on his hip and playing with the strings of his hoodie. 

Scorpius watched him admiringly then glanced down at the ring sitting proudly on the fourth finger of his left hand. “Definitely sure.”

“Found your wand, love.” Teddy’s voice echoed into the room and he appeared holding Clementine’s hand, Victoire’s wand grasped firmly in his other hand. He handed the wand to his wife and picked the little girl up, sitting her on the countertop. “What should you have done with Mummy’s wand when you _found it on the floor?_ ” said Teddy, full of skepticism. 

“Give it to Mummy and Daddy,” Clementine said obediently.

“What did you do instead?” 

“Waved it, make glitter fly around!” she cried in excitement. “Sparkly!” 

“So did you do what you should have done?” Teddy reasoned with her and she thought hard, her head on one side and a finger pressed to her lips.

“No,” she eventually stated. “Sorry, Daddy,” she said mournfully and he pulled her into a hug. “I be good next time.” 

“We _always_ be good for Uncle Al and Scorpy!” Pippa cried from Albus’ arms, then she started poking at his freckles as if she were doing a dot-to-dot puzzle.

“It’s true, they do,” he said, gently guiding Pippa’s fingertips away from his eye sockets. 

Clementine wriggled to be taken down from the countertop and Teddy obliged, lowering her gently where she immediately went running towards Scorpius. He was ready for the impact and scooped her up under the arms, throwing her over his shoulder and ruffling her now-blonde hair. 

Teddy watched his daughter giggling in Scorpius’ arms and checked his watch. “We should get going,” he said regretfully.

“And you’re s-“

“Vic, if you ask if we’re sure one more time then I’m going to the bloody ballet with Teddy myself,” Albus interrupted and his cousin fell silent. 

“I’m flattered, Al, but I think I’d rather take my wife.” He ruffled Albus’ hair and lead the way into the living room to the fireplace they would be Flooing from. 

Clementine escaped from Scorpius’ arms and climbed up onto the sofa, skipping up and down and humming to herself.

“Be good, girls.” Teddy watched them fondly; Clementine had started doing forward rolls across the sofa cushions and Pippa was clinging to Albus like her life depended on it. “We love you very much, see you in the morning. Have fun with Uncle Al and Scorpy.”

Teddy threw Scorpius an apologetic look as he was forced to use the twins’ nickname for him. He hugged Pippa from where she was still in Albus’ arms and attempted to catch Clementine, who ran away from him giggling. 

“Bye, Pippy.” Victoire kissed her daughter and laughed at her husband who had caught Clementine and was showering her with kisses. She allowed her mother to kiss her too and then went back to parading up and down the length of the sofa behind Scorpius. 

“Bye bye, Mummy and Daddy,” Pippa said sweetly, waving to her parents by the fireplace. She then waved emphatically right in Albus’ face. “Bye bye, Uncle Al.” 

“No, I’m not going anywhere, Pip. I’m staying here with you.” He shifted her up higher in his arms and she kissed his cheek while he grinned fondly. 

“Scorpy can be unicorn!” Clementine suddenly commanded, clambering up and onto his back. “Go, go, unicorny sparkles glitter pony.” 

Scorpius obediently span around a few times on the spot. Teddy and Victoire were seconds from Flooing away. “Now, are you both really sure about this?” 

“Yes!” Albus sounded exasperated, pushing the pot of Floo powder into his godbrother’s hand. “Go, go.”

“It’s your only valentine’s as an engaged couple.” He gestured to Scorpius and Clementine, who was hanging heavily from his shoulders and shrieking with laughter. 

“Scor and me don’t do valentine’s,” Albus laughed. “Now, go.”

“Bedtime is seven thirty, they’re not allowed to sleep in their fairy costumes after last time.” Victoire looked like she was trying to remember everything. “Don’t be alarmed if you check on them and they’ve moved into the same bed, Pippa’s allergic to shellfish, make sure you brush their hair before bed, I’ve written everything down. Just send a patronus if you need anything, please.” 

“Vic, we’ve got this under control. You two have a lovely time.” Albus guided his cousin into the fireplace and they watched Teddy and Victoire spin away in the emerald flames. 

“Mummy and Daddy go out for Love Day,” Clementine explained to everyone, her hair turning a pale shade of pink. 

“When Mummy and Daddy come back?” Pippa asked, the second the flames died down. 

“Well, when you’re asleep,” Albus told her and her little eyes widened. 

“They be there, say goodnight?” 

“Er, who wants to go to the beach?”

“Beachy!” Clementine cried, running to Albus and throwing herself at his legs. 

Scorpius hastily glanced through the window at the steadily darkening sky. “Er, isn’t it a bit late to go to the beach?” he muttered to his fiancé. 

Albus shrugged. “It’s right there. We can just take them for a quick runaround, get their energy out before bed.”

Scorpius grinned. “Good thinking.”

“It’s what my parents always did with us.” Albus smiled, both twins still attached to him in some way or another. 

“Let’s go beachy!” Clementine extracted herself from Albus’ legs and headed straight for the back door, in her rainbow printed dress with her feet bare. She’d very nearly managed to open it when Scorpius stepped in to stop her.

“Not so fast. You need a coat and shoes on first.” 

Clementine scowled as he steered her away to the coat rack and threaded her arms through one of a matching set of pale blue, warm coats. Pippa still hadn’t allowed Albus to put her down; she was rather attached to her godfather. With a little bit of persuasion, both girls were bundled up in coats, hats and gloves (all matching of course) and they’d each been talked into putting shoes on.

“Daddy says we never always wear shoes!” Clementine insisted and Scorpius exchanged a look with Albus, both hiding smiles. 

“As clear as that is, Clem, today, we’re all wearing shoes,” Albus explained. 

The four of them were out of the door minutes later, the girls leading the way down to the beach while Scorpius and Albus hurried behind them. The sun was setting and casting a warm, orange glow over the deserted beach.

Pippa reached the sand first and she skipped happily along the waterfront, stopping to pick up an interesting-looking shell. She ran back to Albus and presented him with the shell.

“This for you, Uncle Al, for Love Day!” 

Scorpius smiled fondly as his fiancé made a big deal of accepting the shell. 

“Scorpy,” Clementine whispered and he crouched down in front of her. “You have to give this to Uncle Al.” She placed a small rock into his hand.

“He’ll love it, Clem!” 

“Have to!” she insisted. “It Love Day today! You love Uncle Al!” 

Scorpius nodded. “You’re right, I do love him.” 

She took his hand and he straightened up, walking up the beach with her clasped to him. A few paces away, Albus was showing Pippa how to write her name in the sand. 

“Guess what, Uncle Al?” Scorpius cleared his throat and spoke loudly and dramatically. Albus looked up from the sand and grinned, standing up straight. Both little girls watched them in awe. “Today is Love Day, so here is a token of my love for you.” 

Pippa squealed in delight and Clementine clapped her hands together adorably, both of them grinning uncontrollably. 

Albus took the smooth, flat pebble and turned it over in his hands thoughtfully. “Aw, Scor, and I didn’t even get you anything!” Scorpius chuckled and bumped his shoulder into Albus’. “Do you know what this looks perfect for?” 

Scorpius nodded, on his wavelength. “You mean to tell me, you’re going to throw my Valentine’s gift to you into the sea?” He pretended to sound offended. 

“Yep,” Albus shrugged and turned towards the water, limbering up with the pebble in his hand and his wrist flicking back and forth. He flicked it swiftly and they all watched the pebble fly out, skimming the water once, twice, three and even a fourth time before plunging into the calm depths. 

“I want to have turn!” Clementine cried and she bent down for a random shell, hurling it forwards where it landed in the sand just before the water. 

“Let me help,” Albus said hastily, finding a more suitable rock. He bent down behind Clementine and held onto her hand with the small pebble enclosed inside. With Albus’ considerable help, Clementine was able to throw the stone hard enough that it plunged into the water. She was overjoyed and didn’t seem to mind it hadn’t skimmed at all. 

“Scorpy? I’m cold.” 

Scorpius realised he was staring when he was brought out of an accidental reverie by little Pippa’s voice. It was hard not to just watch in admiration when Albus was around the girls; he was so good with them, it warmed Scorpius’ heart to see. 

“Here, Pip. And we’ll go back inside soon.” He cast a warming charm all over her and she giggled as he turned to surreptitiously cast one over Clementine too. 

“Scorpy’s turn!” Clementine insisted, running to him with the next stone Albus had picked for her. 

“Alright,” he said, ignoring Albus’ smirk and squaring up to the water. He thought back and realised he probably hadn’t skimmed a stone since seventh year in the lake at Hogwarts, but he could remember the technique. He flicked his wrist, keeping it parallel to the sand below and the pebble flew from his hand, skimming once and landing, leaving a satisfying ripple in the water. 

“Not bad.” Albus came to stand behind him and subtly interlaced their fingers. Together they watched Pippa tracing her own name in the sand where Albus had written it for her and Clementine pick up pebbles and gather them together into a little pile. The sky was darkening quickly.

“We should take them in and feed them,” Scorpius commented and felt Albus nod beside him.

“Reckon they’ve got all their energy out?”

“Is that possible for these two?” 

Albus was thoughtful for a second before he quickly sprung into action, releasing Scorpius’ hand and running from him towards the girls.

“Quick, girls! Scorpy’s coming!” He gathered up a twin in each hand as he ran, and they ran alongside him, both shrieking their heads off. Scorpius grinned and set off after them.

“I’m not Scorpy, I’m a dragon!” he cried as they performed laps of the beach at the girls’ running pace until everybody was out of breath. 

* * *

Scorpius put dinner in the oven and tapped it with his wand, then followed the sounds of giggling children to their bedroom, where Albus was putting them into their pyjamas. He pushed open the door silently and leant against the doorway, watching the scene before him, in which nobody had noticed him arrive. 

“Bury Uncle Al in the mud!” Pippa commanded, her left hand pinning down Albus’ shoulder as he lay on the floor. 

“More mud, squelch!” her twin sister shrieked as she dumped a large cushion on top of Albus’ chest. 

“Oh no! Not again! Help, I’ve fallen into a big pile of mud and now I’m stuck in the mud, help me!” Albus called in a passable attempt to sound concerned for his own safety. 

The girls crawled around on top of him, several limbs definitely whacking him in the face in the process. Neither of them were in their pyjamas even a little bit. 

“That was my kneecap you just stepped on, Pip, but no worries, I have another one of those.” Albus winced as Pippa clambered off him and rushed to the bed again. 

“You stuck in the mud _forever_!” Pippa insisted, dumping more pillows on top of Albus and sitting atop them. Clemmie joined her and they both sat triumphantly pinning their uncle to the ground, giggling mercilessly. 

“Not _forever_!” Albus pretended to cry under the cushions and toddlers. 

“Oh, Uncle Al _crying_.” Pippa sounded mildly concerned and she scrambled off the pile where her sister resolutely stayed put. She patted the top of Albus’ dark hair, just visible under the cushion. “It’s okay, Uncle Al. You just sad, it’s okay.” 

“We save you!” Clementine jumped off Albus and held her hands flat with her palms facing up. Pippa copied her. 

“Scoop, scoop!” both girls cried as they flipped all of the cushions off Albus, who was laughing along with them. 

“Oh dear, you’ve woken up the _mud monster_.” Albus wrestled his way from the cushions and stood up, grabbing both little girls in an arm each and throwing them over his broad shoulders. They squealed in delight as the ‘mud monster’ roared and pretended to eat their hair. 

“Scorpy! It’s Scorpy!” Clementine spotted him and wriggled to be put down. Albus stopped growling like a mud monster and turned to the doorway, grinning sheepishly when he spotted Scorpius watching him. Clementine came barrelling over to him, her hair now a platinum blonde, and threw herself at his front, grabbing his knees with both arms. “Scorpy, pick me up!” 

“Hi, Clemmie.” He bent to her level and scooped her up into his arms where she immediately began playing with his blond hair, messing it up in her favourite game of ‘Scorpy Hairdresser’. 

“You got their pyjamas on then?” Scorpius spoke dryly as he settled onto the now-bare bed as Clementine pushed his fringe forward and into his eyes. He blinked rapidly and was momentarily only able to see the little girl’s hands scrabbling around in front of his face. 

“I was coerced into playing mud monster,” Albus explained, sitting beside him. Pippa was twirling around by herself and staring in awe at the way her dress billowed out around her. 

“Maybe it’s a two person job.” Scorpius pushed his now-messy hair out of his eyes as he shuffled forward to allow Clementine to fit behind him. 

“Correct. They’ve both already-“ 

His words were cut off by a sudden need to dive out and grab onto Pippa’s arm, who was seconds away from falling into the solid oak wardrobe as she swayed dizzily. She looked confusedly at his arm then climbed into his lap. 

“-already asked to wear their fairy costumes instead.” He carried on as if there had been no interruption. 

“Cut, cut, cut.” Clemmie held her two fingers like scissors and stabbed them repeatedly into Scorpius’ skull. “You look so better, Scorpy.” 

Albus appraised him with a smirk. “So better.” 

“Me too! I wanna play!” Pippa clambered from Albus’ lap and jumped on top of Scorpius, joining her sister and combing Scorpius’ hair with her fingers. 

“Don’t I get to play hairdresser too?” Albus asked, offended. 

Both girls looked up at him then shared scandalised glances with each other.

“We left Uncle Al out!” Pippa sounded traumatised by the very idea. “Not kind.”

“Pippa do _your_ hair, Uncle Al,” Clemmie explained. 

“No! I want Scorpy!” She pushed her sister’s hands away from where they had a hold on Scorpius’ hair. The result was a painful tug on the top of his head. 

“It’s my turn!” Clemmie retorted and Scorpius tried to gently remove their hands from his hair. 

“Girls, I think you’re hurting him.” Albus gently interjected into their building argument and they both froze. Pippa threw her arms around his neck and Clemmie stroked his face. 

“Sorry, Scorpy.” 

“Sorry.” Clemmie looked dejected and her intricately-braided hair turned dark. 

“It’s okay, girls. No harm done.” He pulled them both in for a quick hug. “Now, who wants to put on pyjamas?”

“Can we wear fairy dresses, Scorpy?” Clementine asked innocently, and she clasped her hands together, batting her eyelashes angelically. 

“Explain to me how anyone’s supposed to say no to _that_ ,” Albus complained. 

“Vic specifically said not to,” Scorpius worried. “There must be a reason.”

“Come on, what harm can it do? They’re only fairy dresses.” 

Scorpius sighed and shook his head. “Okay girls, you can wear your fairy dresses for dinner, but then it’s pyjamas before bedtime.” 

Clementine squealed in delight and grabbed Pippa’s hand, pulling her from Albus’ lap sharply. She jerked from him and landed with a hard bump on the floor, sliding straight through Albus’ arms. He looked at Scorpius in horror as Pippa started to cry almost immediately. 

Clementine gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. “Pippy hurt!” 

Albus leant forward and picked Pippa up, gently cradling her against his chest where she sobbed mournfully. “Where does it hurt, Pip?” Pippa pointed to her head and Albus’ eyes widened in panic. He shot a glance at Scorpius. “Can you check, please? I’m sure she didn’t land on her head, but for my peace of mind.” 

Scorpius nodded and removed Pippa from Albus, placing her on his lap instead. He gingerly felt all over the back and top of her head, looking for bumps, but didn’t notice any. He placed the back of his hand against her forehead and peered into her eyes. “Healer Scorpius says you’re going to be okay, Pippa.” 

Behind them, Clementine was rummaging in the bottom drawer of the chest in the corner of the room and she presented Albus with a bundle of red and white polka-dots.

“Thanks, Clem, but green’s really more my colour.” He grinned and she protested, until she realised he was joking and allowed him to help her into the pyjamas. He threw the second, matching set over to Scorpius, who still had Pippa; the fairy dresses were long forgotten after Pippa’s dramatic fall. 

With both girls in pyjamas, Scorpius momentarily left them with Albus to finish plating up their dinner. He returned to find Pippa and Clemmie clambering all over their uncle again; Scorpius might have been their preferred hair model but it was obvious who their favourite climbing frame was. 

Pippa was sat on Albus’ shoulders, grabbing his face to keep herself steady. Her fingers were halfway inside Albus’ mouth, her thumb poking his eye socket. 

“Pippa, please be gentle with your uncle,” Scorpius reprimanded, lifting her from his shoulders and sitting her on his hip, one hand reaching out to hold onto Clemmie. Albus rubbed the back of his neck. “Dinner’s ready.” 

“Thanks, love,” Albus smiled, even though he had red fingernail marks on his cheekbone. 

Pippa squirmed to be put down and rushed to her sister, wrapping her arms around Clemmie in a sweet hug. Scorpius felt himself melt and he shared a glance with Albus, who looked equally as bowled over by how adorable his nieces were. 

They both let go of each other but stayed holding hands, their matching pyjamas brushing together. Clementine had morphed her hair back to Pippa’s sunkissed blonde, but her sister’s intricate braid was no longer in tact. Pippa glumly held out a fallen hair tie to Scorpius, and he sighed and slid it over his wrist, turning her round and undoing her hair so it fell loosely over her shoulders. There was no way he could recreate the braid she’d had before. 

Clementine fingered her own braid, which was still neat and in place, and looked to Scorpius like it must have taken hours but in reality had probably only taken Teddy a few minutes to create. “Now we look different,” she stated. 

“I’ll take yours out too,” Albus interjected and Clemmie sat angelically for him while he carefully undid her long hair. 

* * *

With dinner out of the way, and both girls’ teeth brushed, Scorpius couldn’t help thinking things were going much better than he’d thought they might. It wasn’t that he thought anything was going to go wrong - it never had when they’d looked after the girls before - but this was the first time they’d had to put them to bed before. He couldn’t help noticing that he and Albus seemed to work very well caring for the girls together and he wondered if Albus was thinking it too.  


They sat side by side, each with a Lupin twin in front of them, carefully brushing their hair out over their shoulders. Clementine’s kept changing colour with each stroke of Scorpius’ brush and it was strangely mesmerising to watch it transform. By the time he was finished, Clementine’s hair resembled Teddy’s pastel-blue exactly. 

Scorpius could guess what that meant.

“I want Daddy,” she whispered softly into his neck as he picked her up and carried her over to her bed. Her arms were wound around his neck and she clung on tighter when he attempted to lower her into bed. 

“Daddy will be home after you’ve fallen asleep,” Scorpius explained gently, vaguely aware of Albus putting Pippa to bed a few feet away. 

“I want Daddy,” she repeated, her bottom lip trembling. Scorpius hugged her tight and rocked back and forth. He was used to some of his patients missing their parents; at least Clementine wasn’t unwell. 

He started to lower her into bed. “Maybe you’ll have a dream about a cloud, and a cloud fairy who lives there, and the cloud fairy’s name will be-“

“Silvermist Marshmallow,” Albus put in and both girls giggled. Clementine wriggled under her duvet and Scorpius covered her over with it, mirroring Albus by sitting on the edge of the bed. “And Silvermist Marshmallow’s favourite game to play is _Cloud Catch_.” 

“How you play _Cloud Catch_ , Uncle Al?” Pippa asked in wonder.

“Yes, Uncle Al, how do you play _Cloud Catch_?” Scorpius echoed and Albus gave him a look. 

“ _Cloud Catch_ is easy if you know how to play. But only very clever cloud fairies can play it, because the clouds have to do exactly what you tell them.”

He continued on telling the girls a long-winded tale about how some of the clouds listened and obeyed Silvermist Marshmallow and how some were only interested in turning grey and producing horrible rain. By the time his story had about eight different subplots running and no end in sight, Scorpius pressed a finger to his lips. Both girls were asleep.

They silently left the room, closing the door slowly and quietly behind them. As soon as it was closed, Scorpius turned to Albus.

“I request the highest of fives.” He raised his hand and Albus shook his head but slapped his palm against Scorpius’. “We did it!” 

“We’re not bad at this parenting thing, are we?” Albus mused as they made their way into the living room, the girls’ toys clearing away with a wave of Scorpius’ wand. Albus tapped his own wand to activate the monitoring spell Teddy and Victoire had set up on the twins’ room. 

“I’d say we’re rather good, even if this is only one night.” He threw himself down on the sofa and Albus joined him instantly, adopting their usual position of Albus resting his head on Scorpius’ chest and Scorpius wrapping his arm around Albus’ shoulders. 

“I can remember when they were still babies, and I was scared to hold them, they were so tiny.” Albus sighed against him. 

These days, because of his job, Scorpius was used to holding tiny babies, but he remembered three years ago when the twins had been born and they’d seemed impossibly small. He nodded in agreement and tried to push the image of Albus holding a tiny baby of their own out of his head. 

“I know,” Albus murmured, looking up at him. “I know what you’re thinking about. Me too.” He reached for Scorpius’ left hand and wiggled his engagement ring. “One thing at a time.” 

They stayed like that for a second, wrapped up in each other and revelling in what had just silently passed between them. This time, Scorpius did nothing to push away the image of Albus holding a tiny baby of their very own. 

“How would we do it?” Albus asked randomly, breaking Scorpius from his daydream. “How do couples like us have babies?”

“What happened to _one thing at a time_?” Scorpius watched Albus play with his engagement ring, spinning it around his finger. 

Albus stopped spinning. “I know. It was just a question. Would we adopt? Find a surrogate?” 

Scorpius would be lying if he said it wasn’t something he’d thought about but he was impressed that Albus seemed to have thought about it too. Before he could answer, two small figures appeared at the door, one clutching a stuffed mermaid with a glittering tail. 

“Girls, it’s sleep time,” Albus reprimanded instantly and the hopeful expressions on the twins’ faces vanished. “That’s what Teddy always says to them,” he muttered as he got up to take the girls back to bed.  

Scorpius watched him leave and was, not for the first time, blown away by how much he loved Albus Potter. He followed and helped Albus tuck them both up in Clemmie’s bed (they refused to do anything but share) where they cuddled together and lay peacefully still while Albus sang to them. 

Scorpius knew he was highly privileged to be one of the few people Albus would sing in front of who wasn’t a small child. The thought crossed his mind, yet again, of what it would be like one day when he’d listen to Albus singing their own child to sleep. He closed his eyes too and let the sound of his fiancé’s voice wash over him pleasantly. 

“They’re out,” he whispered when he’d finished singing. “Scor.” 

A gentle shake of his shoulder brought Scorpius back to the present and he opened his eyes and smiled at Albus. They linked hands and crept from the room, closing the door quietly behind them. Neither of them dared speak until they were back in the living room and far away from where the girls were sleeping. 

“I think the twins have permanently damaged several of my hair follicles.” Scorpius massaged the top of his head with a grin. 

“I knew this haircut was a good idea. Not as fun to play with,” Albus said triumphantly, running his hand through his hair, which he’d recently had cut shorter than normal; it was a bit of a sore point between the two of them. 

“Yes, well, you know my opinion on your hair not being as fun to play with.” 

Albus raised an eyebrow. “It makes me look older. Do you want people to think you’re engaged to a fifth year?”

“Exaggerating. Completely and totally exaggerating, Albus Potter.” 

“Soon to be Potter-Malfoy,” he replied in a whisper, grabbing Scorpius’ left hand and running his fingers over his ring. Scorpius brought his hand to his mouth and kissed his fingers. Albus wriggled his hand free and snaked it around the back of Scorpius’ neck, playing with his hair and cupping his chin. He pressed a kiss firmly to Scorpius’ lips.

“Anyway,” Scorpius started as they broke apart, “fifth year was when we fell in love.” 

Albus rolled his eyes and fell against Scorpius’ chest. “Fine, I promise I’ll let it grow back before the wedding, how’s that?” 

Scorpius clenched his fist and pulled it towards himself in triumph. “That was a promise, an actual promise. You can’t possibly go back on that now.” 

“I always keep my promises!” Albus raised his head and pretended to be offended.

“Like the time you _promised_ you weren’t up to anything and then this happened?” Scorpius flashed his engagement ring. 

“That was different, I wanted to surprise you,” Albus muttered into his collarbone while Scorpius stroked his short hair and Albus traced circles over his shoulder. 

“It was definitely the best surprise you’ve ever given me.”

“Even better than your sixteenth birthday?”

“Yes, because I couldn’t do _this_ back then.” He kissed him softly on the lips. 

“Technically, you could have. But it would have given both of us a heart attack.” 

“What if I’d done _this_?” Scorpius went to cup his face and kiss him again in the way he knew Albus liked but Albus pushed his hands away and raised his eyebrows.

“Scorpius! The twins are asleep next door!”

Scorpius stopped himself and realised it looked like his hands were heading for somewhere a lot less innocent than his fiancé’s face. “Oh! No! I meant _this_.”

He gently took Albus’ chin and angled it up towards him, kissing him lightly. Albus laughed into the kiss and pulled back with relief etched all over his face. 

“Makes more sense. To be fair, you do have sex hair right now,” Albus said dryly, ruffling it and probably messing it up even further. 

“And you _don’t_ which is not okay with me. Albus Potter with tidy hair is just… wrong.” 

“Try telling that to your dad,” Albus grinned and faltered at Scorpius’ shrewd expression. 

“Is that why you did it?”

“No,” Albus replied, too quickly. 

“You _did_.” Scorpius circled his arms around his fiancé and smiled widely down at him. “You cut off your famous-Albus-Potter-hair to impress _my dad_.” 

“No I didn’t, I absolutely didn’t. Nope, didn’t happen.” Albus stubbornly shook his head but he was smirking. 

“You’re adorable, you know that, don’t you?” 

“No, you’ll have to tell me again several more times.” 

Scorpius rolled his eyes. “You know you don’t need to try and impress my dad. He’s already very fond of you.” 

Albus shrugged. “I know. I just wanted him to know I was taking this seriously.” 

“In case he thought you only proposed as a joke?” Scorpius laughed as Albus grinned sheepishly. 

“I love you,” Albus said suddenly. 

Scorpius was momentarily taken aback, not at the notion that Albus loved him, but at him saying it first. Albus was more likely to show Scorpius he loved him than just use the words. 

“What?” Albus had noticed Scorpius’ expression. “It’s Love Day.” He imitated Clementine’s little voice. 

“I love you too, Albus.” Scorpius swept him up in another kiss and he felt Albus smile against his lips.  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Beks/morphin3 for the support and for reading the first draft of this in a Johnny Rockets and almost crying at the obscene levels of fluff!  
> I’m over on  tumblr as littlerose13writes  if you want to say hi :)


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